


Bad Habits

by PoisonJack



Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Anal Sex, Biting, Blowjobs, Eventual Smut, Fluff, General au, Jack and Rhys are code monkeys, Jack's not a complete asshole, M/M, Poisoning, Porn With Plot, Rhys as Jack's PA, Too much coffee, Will add more tags as I go, hospital stay, rhack - Freeform, smutty smutty smut smut, sorta - Freeform, trauma to poor Vaughn's sanity, vengeance, what do you expect from drinking that much coffee?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-20
Updated: 2015-10-11
Packaged: 2018-04-22 13:26:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4836986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoisonJack/pseuds/PoisonJack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Working all week long to decode a weapons malfunction, Jack and Rhys have been running on next to no sleep and more coffee than a body should. Work gets thrown to a halt as a subtle assassination attempt on Jack falls on Rhys instead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first Borderlands fic. I am in love with these two trash lords, so thought I'd dive right in to the garbage can.

Rhys stopped by the coffee shop on the way up to him and Jack's shared office to grab some much needed caffeine. They'd been working hard all week on fixing a major mistake in recent coding for a new line of small arms. There was a bug that caused the gun to malfunction, severely shocking the user. Jack might have found it funny as hell at any other time, but this shipment was due to go out Monday, which meant they were busting their asses trying to find and correct the mistake lest they forfeit on a multimillion dollar deal. The department which made the mistake had forfeit their lives, and Jack had appointed new Heads to prep the guns for their reprogramming once they isolated the mistake.

Rhys was certain the bags under his eyes weighed one ton each. And as much as he wanted to remain home that weekend, catching up on sleep and playing video-games with Vaughn, Jack had made it very clear that he'd be on the receiving end of some very creative punishments if he didn't show up bright and early that weekend.

"Same as usual, Millie," Rhys told the lady behind the counter tiredly.

"You look exhausted, hon," the older woman said as she set about filling his order; a double blended latte with extra cream and five sugars, and a plain black for Jack. "The week's been rough on you."

"You don't know the half of it," he muttered, rubbing his echo eye with his flesh hand. 

"You need rest."

"I need caffeine."

She laughed and set the two coffees before him, his overly-sweetened cup bearing his name written affectionately with a smiley face next to it. 

"I'd tell you to lay off all that sugar, but I think you need it." Rhys snorted and paid as she wished him speedy luck in finding the issue that had all of Hyperion buzzing. Most that heard of the problem were glad it wasn't them who had been airlocked.

He made his way from the little coffee shop to the elevator that would take him to their floor, sipping on the not-overly hot cuppa as the efficient metal box delivered him to an aggravated Hyperion president. The morning just kept getting better.

"Where have you been, cupcake? Better not have been jerking off on company time."

"....as if I even have time for that," he muttered to himself as he walked up to Jack's desk. He frowned. He wasn't even late, had this been a week day. But it was Saturday. The weekend. The end of his week. A day he should still be asleep for another two hours.

Damn he missed his bed.

"What was that?" Jack asked without looking at him, holding out his hand. Rhys didn't answer, and placed the cup in Jack's hand. The older man took a sip without looking up at Rhys as he made a note on the paper before him, then opened the lid to quickly chug half of it as per usual.

Rhys made a face. Watching Jack chug hot coffee all week was something he couldn't keep quiet about any longer. "Isn't that hot? Like really hot? How can you swallow that so fast?"

Jack looked up at him with a huge grin and Rhys immediately regretted his words. "Oh Rhysie, you of all people are asking me that?"

Rhys held up his free hand. "Don't even start. I'm too tired for this shit."

"Being tired never stopped you before." Jack eyed him with a predatory look, but behind that it was obvious how exhausted he actually was. "Nothing I can't handle, cupcake. Wakes me up."

He turned his attention back to the documents on his desk. Rhys ran his free hand through his hair, regretting not washing it that morning. But damn he was tired. Maybe he should have ordered an espresso. He took another sip of his coffee, wondering how many taste buds Jack had left that were un-scalded. "Any closer to finding it? I'd really like to get more than two hours sleep tonight."

"Would you now, kitten? Because I enjoy this shit _so much_ that I came in extra early on a Saturday, when I would normally be balls deep in my hot little PA right about now by the way, to _instead_ be up to my balls in some jackass's mistake that could cost us millions." Jack chose that moment to look up at Rhys, raising a single tired brow at his quickly flushing face. "You mean you aren't having just the time of your freakin' life here?"

Rhys knew better than to answer; took some solace in the fact that Jack was apparently suffering as much as he was. It had been an extremely long week, if the way Jack was eying him said anything. They both needed some major R&R.

Jack broke eye contact with him to rub across the bridge of his nose, muttering at Rhys. "Let's just try to get this shit done, pumpkin. I want to be out of here just as much as you do."

Rhys thought Jack must be tired if he wasn't cracking more jokes at his expense. He went to his desk and the loathed code and began checking and double checking as the caffeine finally started bringing him back to a semi-state of living automation. 

-

Rhys wished he'd never brought those papers home with him. Instead of getting a head start, or anything done from the comfort of his own bed that night, he'd fallen asleep hard amongst the papers and been haunted by nightmares of lines of code that laughed and taunted him all night. 

He didn't have time for a shower that morning, and had to check over the papers on the way to the office instead. He tiredly trudged to the coffee shop, wondering if his echo eye would fall out like it felt his flesh eye wanted to. The damn thing couldn't even find the mistake since they weren't positive what it was they were looking for. 

Damn he was tired.

"The usual please, Millie," he said without looking up from the papers, so exhausted and in need of caffeine that he wanted to cry.

"Um...so that's....uh..."

Rhys looked up from the code at the unfamiliar voice to see a young nervous-looking man fidgeting as he offered Rhys a sheepish smile.

"Ah, sorry about that," Rhys apologized. "Where's Millie?"

"She's sick today."

"Really? She seemed fine yesterday." Damn, he hoped he didn't accidentally give her something. He was sure his immune system was just waiting to crack under the pressure "It's nothing serious right?"

"Oh, no. Just a cold. A really bad cold." The guy smiled, trying to be reassuring. "What can I get ya?"

"I'll have a double blended latte with an extra shot of cream and five sugars-" the guy raised a brow at that, but Rhys decided he was too tired to be ashamed of his sweet tooth, "-and a plain black coffee. To go."

"Gotcha." The obviously new barista quickly hustled off to fill the order, taking slightly longer than Millie to get everything done proper, but it only gave Rhys more time to check the neglected code from the night before. Nothing particularly magical happened while he waited.

"Alrighty, here we go," he said handing down the cups one by one with an air of accomplishment. "One regular black coffee. And one double blended latte, extra cream, five sugars." The guy grinned at him. "To go."

Rhys thought he looked far too amused at reciting Rhys' drink back to him, but he merely focused on neatly gathering the papers full of code and sticking them under his flesh arm as he took the plain in his right hand and his in his left. 

"You got it okay?" 

"No problem," Rhys told him, hoping Millie and her lack of personal judgment would make a speedy recovery.

"You know, that stuff will kill ya," the young man called out as Rhys rolled tired eyes, his patience run out.

"Better that than Handsome Jack," he countered as he shamelessly walked away with his sweet sweet caffeine, somewhat smug about the way the younger man gasped at the mention of Jack's name.

That smugness wore off before the elevator even reached the office, and he was fully in a pissy mood by the time he was walking across the floor to Jack's desk.

"Have a good night's sleep, princess?" Jack teased without looking up as Rhys set the man's coffee down before him. All Rhys wanted was caffeine in his veins, his butt in his overly comfortable chair, and this damn nightmare of never ending bullshit to be over. He might've gripped the papers that had been under his arm a little more ruthlessly than necessary in his metal hand. He wished it was someone's neck.

"I want to shoot, then strangle, then shoot again whoever is responsible for this fuckup in the first place."

Jack looked up at Rhys then, his eyebrows shot up to his hair. A slow smile spread across Jack's face as Rhys glared down at the pile of papers before the older man. 

"Kitten, I'm gonna fuck the words right out of your mouth when we're finally done here." Rhys snorted at that as they regarded one another. Deep bags were under their eyes, and Rhys was fairly sure Jack hadn't showered in days. The only thing either of them were going to do when they were done was pass out. "Maybe after a week's sleep."

"It's a date," Rhys said with a smirk as Jack grunted in response, too tired to further tease. 

"Here, take these," Jack added as he handed Rhys the papers that his coffee was sitting on. "Run these algorithms through the stuff you checked last night. Anything pops up, I think we've got the bastard."

Rhys added the papers Jack gave him to the papers in his hand and prayed to every and any deity that they find the shit early so he could finally get some rest.

The office was quiet except for Jack's typing as Rhys plunked down into his chair, muscles and joints complaining as he looked over the new codes Jack had given him. He prayed the man was as brilliant as he claimed to be and that the answer was somewhere before him.

He rubbed his eyes and took a sip of his coffee only to pull a face at the offending taste. He opened the lid, and found himself looking down into inky blackness instead of comforting tan and white. The damn new guy hadn't even put the cups down in the right order. He missed Millie's absence even more.

"Jack, don't drink that coffee. I have yours by mistake."

"Oh? You sure about that?"

Jack wasn't really paying attention, eyes busy scanning endless lines. Rhys spun his chair to face the other man. "It's dark. And bitter as hell. Awfully like you I might add."

That made Jack look up with a smirk, and he sat back in his chair and opened the lid of the cup on his desk and grinned into it. "Well kitten, what we have here is more sugar and milk than coffee....Something I'd give a kid frankly. You not breastfed as a child or what?" 

Rhys' body complained but he climbed out of his comfortable chair to exchange drinks with Hyperion's CEO. "Ha ha, real cute. Remind me to poison the next one," he said as he stopped in front of Jack's desk, unloading the plain coffee as if it had the plague. "Not that I think you'd notice." He made a face that showed very clearly what he thought of the taste. 

Jack just grinned, handing Rhys the sweetened mixture with thumb and forefinger, touching the cup as little as possible. "You know, I get _reeeaal_ concerned about your lack of taste, pumpkin. First the socks, now the coffee. Maybe someday I'll rub off on you." Jack raised a brow and winked at Rhys. 

Rhys just rolled his eyes and raised his overly sweet cup in Jack's honor, choosing not to rise to the bait. "Well here's to you."

"Yeah no thanks cupcake."

Rhys smirked, taking a sip and finishing with a satisfied pop as it was Jack's turn to pull a face. How Rhys could drink something so far removed from actual coffee he didn't want to know.

Rhys momentarily looked sick, and Jack laughed. "What? Too much sweet for ya? Well you're shit out of luck, cupcake. You can't have mine." He moved his cup to the other side of the desk, smirking.

"No just....ugh alright maybe." He paused and looked at his cup with an inward curse, feeling extremely dizzy. "New guy at the coffee place....couldn't make a decent cup if his life depended on it." His face scrunched as his stomach twisted. "Or it's from a taste of that shit you drink."

He stood there a few more silent moments unsteadily, catching Jack's attention as he was concentrating just to stand. "What's the holdup, kitten? That code ain't gonna read itself."

"Yeah yeah, just....ooh....really bad vertigo all of a sudden." He rubbed his eyes and took a few steps back toward his desk, but had to grab on to the edge of Jack's not to fall over.

Jack was watching him with a frown, his tone flat and voice devoid of teasing. "Okay there kiddo?" Rhys looked at Jack's face, expression sharp and focused on the cybernetic man. He nodded, squeezing his eyes shut a moment and rubbing the bridge of his nose with a shaky hand.

Rhys felt like his lungs weren't getting enough air, and his head was pounding. His limbs felt oddly electric. He thought Jack said something else but he couldn't hear it over the sound of his own heart beat in his temples. He felt his nose running, and wiped it away only to see a red streak of blood. 

"Jack I....don't think...."

He was confused a moment as his vision went splotchy, and Jack was shooting up from his desk very quickly. He blinked and he realized he could see the blurry ceiling of the office; realized he was on the floor, laying half in spilled coffee from his dropped cup as his body convulsed. He felt like the office was spinning yet he remained still, and he was breathing but he wasn't getting air. His throat was tight and dry, and his body wouldn't listen to him as he tried to get up; tried to speak.

Jack was above him as he realized he was passing out, and he couldn't feel Jack's hands on his face as the other man was over him, brow furrowed. A numbing, burning pain was lancing through him. He could see, though blurry, that Jack was saying his name. 

Or rather "Rhysie". 

That scared him. He only realized that he should be really scared when he saw something on Jack's face that he hadn't seen in the powerful man before, and that was fear. 

Jack's face above him disappeared, and Rhys' vision gave way to blackness as his eyes rolled up into his head and he lost consciousness. Jack ripped open a drawer on his desk, rifling around until he pulled out a syringe filled with liquid. He quickly ran back to the front of the desk, shaking Rhys.

"Rhys. Rhysie. Come on, cupcake. Don't die on me. I swear I'll fucking kill you if you die on me...." He uncapped the needle and plunged it into Rhys' neck, injecting the man with purple-tinted liquid. Rhys was unresponsive, and Jack got on his comm, snarling into it. "I need a med team in my office five minutes ago!" He slapped Rhys' face, opened his eyelid, watched the blood from his nose drip down his cheek to land on the overly expensive floor, and Jack felt murderous. 

As the elevator doors opened and a fearful team of doctors rushed into the office, Jack stood over them all looking down at Rhys' unmoving lanky form, barking orders as he followed them into the elevator and to the medical sector. None of the doctors would make eye contact with Hyperion's president as it was very evident by the expression on his face that no matter how things played out today, someone was going to die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jack is gonna strangle a bitch. And now I really want a coffee. 
> 
> [my tumblr](http://purge-that-urge-rhackathon.tumblr.com/) | [my fic masterlist archive](http://purge-that-urge-rhackathon.tumblr.com/post/134979026515/poisonjack-ao3-fic-archive)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much guys for reading this :) I've been sick so enjoy a hospital-bound Rhys.

Rhys didn't know where he was, or how he'd gotten there, but he suddenly became conscious that he was somewhere very bright. And he was groggy. He slowly came to, eyes aching as he blinked tiredly in the too-bright light, realizing he was in a hospital bed in a white room with a door and no windows, and IV in his hand and not much else to look at. Everything hurt all over and he wished he hadn't breached consciousness. 

"Heeeeeey kiddo. How you feelin?"

Rhys winced as his head throbbed at the annoying, comforting voice as Jack's face came into view. "Jack?"

"In the flesh." The Hyperion CEO sat down next to Rhys on the bed, hand on his thigh, tentatively eyeing him. "You....alright?"

"Trying to decide what hurts the most," he grumbled hoarsely. "Feels like someone took pipe cleaners to my veins and a hammer to my head....What's that?" Rhys indicated the IV bag of purple tinted liquid being fed into his bloodstream.

"It's just water, sugar."

"Water's not purple, Jack."

"Water that's been treated with eridium ore is." He offered the cybernetic man a grin, and stopped him as Rhys raised his hand to his mouth with every intention of ripping it out. Rhys was wide awake now.

"Why the hell am I being pumped full of eridium?" Rhys croaked in fear, Jack keeping his wrist pressed to the bed with the other hand on his forearm. With how weak Rhys was, it didn't take much effort.

"Eridium- _treated_ water. Saline if you want to get technical. Don't pull it out, princess."

"Okay....then why the hell am I being pumped full of eridium- _treated_ water?!"

"Necessity."

".... _necessity_."

"Yup." Jack's hand stroked Rhys' wrist, and he offered no further explanation. 

Rhys resigned himself and rested his head back on the pillow with a groggy huff as he willed his heart rate to slow down. He figured that on top of the general throbbing aches and pains all throughout his body, what the hell was some eridium water on top of that? It didn't hurt where the needle punctured his skin, and he knew deep down that Jack wouldn't do anything irreversibly dangerous, so he supposed it couldn't be that bad. He exhaled tiredly, closing his eyes. "What happened?" 

"What do you remember?" Jack asked cautiously.

Rhys rubbed at his eyes, breathing deeply, to look up in thought. "Hmm....last I remember, we were trying to fix the coding for the S-13 shipment to get it out on...time...." His voice trailed off and he looked at Jack in horror. "Shit, did you find it? Did we make the deadline?"

Jack looked surprisingly amused. "Nope. Missed it by a week." He was smirking in a way that had Rhys disturbed. He hasn't been airlocked yet, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be punished for what he was sure Jack saw as him personally ruining their deadline. "What else do you remember, kitten?"

"Wait wait. I've been in here for a week?" 

" _Two_ weeks." Jack's grin was huge like he knew some amusing secret. For all Rhys knew, he did. He started thinking it would be better had he not woken up. 

"I....it's not like I planned for this to happen you know!" he immediately defended, throat going drier than it already felt. "It's not like I wanted this!"

"I know." Jack was smirking, and handed Rhys a glass of water from a messy side table where his mechanical arm was on the charger. He took the glass cautiously, now suspicious Jack could read minds. 

He drained it and handed it back. "I don't know what _this_ even is!"

Jack leaned in, grin toothy, and Rhys could see light bags under the Hyperion CEO's eyes. Lack of sleep was evident, but they were nothing compared to the bags under Jack's eyes before. Lines of worry instead of lack of sleep. Rhys leaned away as Jack took his chin in hand, thumb tracing over dry lips. "You got yourself poisoned baby. Remember?"

He paused and frowned. "The coffee guy?" Rhys screwed his eyes together in recollection. "The one that messed up my order?"

Jack raised a single brow, moving his hand to the back of Rhys' neck, thumb settling on the hollow at his throat. Rhys remained very still while Jack regarded him. "Technically he got that disgusting concoction you call coffee _right_ , pumpkin. Only _mine_ was poisoned." 

Rhys swallowed, fidgeting under Jack's inspection as he considered that information. "Well, guess lucky for you I got the wrong cup. You're welcome, by the way," he finished sarcastically, wincing as his head throbbed. 

"Lucky for you you have shit taste in good coffee," Jack told him quietly. "More than that little sip would have definitely killed you." 

Rhys' eyes snapped to Jack's face at that. The older man was regarding him with an expression Rhys couldn't easily place, and he felt like he was sinking though he remained firmly locked in Jack's gaze. He offered a weak smile. "That bad, huh?"

"Bad enough for an eridium drip."

"...I still don't understand how those two are connected."

Jack's face took on his "holier-than-thou" expression as he watched his own thumb stroke over Rhys' tattoos peeking out of his hospital gown. "That little cocktail you had a taste of was manufactured on Pandora. I've used it before. Neat stuff. Very effective." He looked up to meet Rhys' eyes with a cheeky grin. Rhys' face screwed up in displeasure. "Also been on the receiving end of darts tipped with it." He laughed, surprising Rhys, as he recalled the memory. "Crazy bastards using it, some of them were immune. Their whole town was above an eridium deposit, and that shit was leaking into everything; the plants, the soil, the ground water everyone drank. Funny thing, I was wondering what the effects of long term eridium exposure might be. That town full of psychos had the answer."

Rhys shot a horrified glance at the IV in his arm, sputtering, but Jack just placed his palm over the back of the needle. "Low dose exposure is a different matter, kitten. Like I said, some of those psychos were immune to their own shit. Something about the plants soaking it all up and how they make it...." He gestured with his hands. "I don't know how it works. I pay someone else to know how it works. Anyways, once that poison enters your system it gets _everywhere,_ makes treating it nearly impossible by the time its active. But low doses of eridium-treated water can slow it, reverse the effectiveness." He was looking at Rhys' hand again, stroking over the needle. "After wiping that town off the face of Pandora, we've been experimenting with eridium treatments. It should get all that shit completely out of your system, though you're out of harm's way....didn't want to take any chances."

Rhys forced a nervous, shaky laugh. "Just doing my corporate duty....heh heh...heh..." He chanced a look at Jack, only to still be intensely regarded. "Soooo.....you....got the guy?"

Jack's demeanor immediately changed, looking pleased with himself. "Oh yeah, we got him. It took a week of locking down Helios but some of my men found him in an air vent." Jack started chuckling, patting Rhys' thigh in thought. "But hey enough of that, do you remember anything else, kitten?"

"After your office?" Jack nodded, grin growing obscenely wide, and Rhys had the distinct feeling he'd done something truly humiliating. Felt his face heating though he didn't know why. "Nothing....."

"When you woke yesterday? You don't remember any of that?" Rhys looked at him with true confusion, shaking his head. He didn't recall waking up yesterday. "Really? Oh sweetheart, it was too good." Jack looked giddy as he put on a poor imitation of what he normally referred to as Rhys' fanboy voice. "You were all ' _oh Handsome Jack, don't leave my side. I can't live without you. You're so heroic and handsome. Please don't leave me. I can't bear to be apart from you.'_ You wouldn't let me take two steps away. I mean I knew you were a clingy little nerd before but holy shit, have some dignity." Jack had a shit-eating grin splitting his face, and Rhys knew his face was absolutely burning.

"I most certainly did not do that!"

"You did."

"I....no." 

"You did." Jack took a moment to stretch, moving his head back and forth to crack his neck. "I've got some questions I want to ask you after that embarrassing scene actually, but we'll save those for another time." He took Rhys' chin between thumb and forefinger. "I'd like to explore your little hero worship once I've got you back home."

He was grinning like he knew all of life's secrets (or at least all of Rhys' secrets, which was probably true), but one thing screamed out louder to Rhys than the rest, save for his humiliation. "Wait, you didn't actually stay here did you?"

Jack let go of his chin to look about the room, unimpressed. "Pfft, as if I have the time to hang around nerds like you all day," Jack said a little too quickly. "Some of us actually have jobs to do around here."

Rhys rolled his eyes, but felt warmth spread throughout his chest. The one table and chair in the room which had his arm charging was also covered in snack wrappers and papers that he dated as being at least a week old. The mess screamed of Jack. He didn't pursue the topic. "So we lost the S-13 deal then."

"Nah, they went out as planned." He gave Rhys a carefree smile. "I found the bug a week ago. We sent out upgradeable 'updates' for the software while they were en route."

"Wait, you sent out screwy guns? Knowing they were malfunctioning?" It wasn't like Jack to risk the Hyperion brand like that.

"I'm Handsome Jack, kid. And in case you haven't noticed, I happen to be a genius." He sighed, looking around the room. "Things would have gone more or less according to schedule had all of this-" he motioned about with his hands "-not happened. That algorithm I gave you found the issue within five hours."

Rhys looked at Jack with slack jaw, then looked righteously angry. "You mean we could have been over and done with _all of that_ well before two--"

"And had you on your back beneath me back home by three? Yeah, that occurred to me." Jack gave him a contemplative look. "But _here_ we are instead, two weeks later..." He gave Rhys an accusatory glare. Rhys shot it right back at him, not even phased.

"...All because someone thinks _you're_ worth the effort of murder...." Jack snorted at that. "I ever get my hands on that guy, strangling is going to be too good for him..."

Jack grinned. "Funniest thing about that guy. Went and.....chewed off his own tongue....when my guys took him in." Jack was laughing, looking highly, highly tickled as he was recounting the incident. "Guess he hoped he'd bleed to death before I showed up. Only thing that sucks is that he couldn't tell us anything even if he wanted to. Well, that and the mess." 

Jack was grinning, gave Rhys' flesh forearm a squeeze. The cybernetic man looked green at the idea.

"It was a pretty big mess ya know? Blood _everywhere_. Like I'm talking on the ceiling and shit." Jack wiped a tear from his eye, laughing. "Don't know if he was trying to kill himself or trying to give the room a new coat of paint. I didn't even get a chance to work him over before he got loose." Jack only laughed more as Rhys openly frowned at him. 

"He got away? After trying to _kill_ you?" His tone was one of complete disbelief.

Jack threaded his fingers through the back of Rhys' hair and brought his forehead to the other man's. "Of course not, kitten. I _let_ him escape."

Rhys pulled away, backing into the pillows behind him, Jack's hand sliding to his neck before he rested it on his own thigh. "You _let_ him escape." Jack looked completely unconcerned. Rhys wondered if Jack didn't want to admit he was anything less than infallible. "After trying to kill you-- after nearly killing _me_ , you let him escape."

Jack quickly boxed Rhys in, an arm on either side of him on the mattress next to his hips, and Rhys pressed himself into the back of the hospital bed in intimidation.

"Let's get two things straight, kitten," Jack started, voice low and dangerous, but composed. "One, I'm Handsome _goddamn_ Jack. No one gets loose out of one of _my_ holding cells unless it's completely intentional. And two, your life is _mine_." Rhys felt goosebumps raise on his arm and a pleasant chill go up his spine at those closely growled words. Jack moved in even more to nose over cheek, before whispering into his ear. "Do you think that after nearly killing you, that I would be satisfied cutting only one bandit into tiny little pieces? That that would be enough?" Rhys shivered at that, and Jack brought a hand up to stroke at Rhys' cheek with his thumb. He pressed his lips to the skin of Rhys' throat, and the younger man whimpered with sudden fierce want, face and groin flooding with heat at the touch. "It's a dull day if someone _hasn't_ tried to kill me, pumpkin. I've had more assassination attempts than you can count, and this isn't even my first poisoning. But bringing _you_ into it...."

Rhys had his eyes screwed tightly shut and teeth worrying his bottom lip, only existing where Jack was touching him. He felt safe, secure between Jack's arms and surrounded by his familiar scent. And he wanted. Oh how he wanted. But the Hyperion CEO kept his touches rather innocent, everything considered, nosing about his throat where his heartbeat was pounding out of control, his blood thrumming. "I put a tracker on that son of a taint, and when he leads us to the bandits who set up this little coup, _weeeeeell_ I am going to skin every last one of them alive and let them know what it means to mess with Handsome Jack."

Rhys sighed as Jack's thumb left his cheek to trace over his throat, sucking a bruise below his jaw. Rhys let out a choked noise as Jack felt his way down his torso, slipping beneath the sheets and bunching Rhys' medical gown to come to rest on his half-hard cock. 

"Jack..." Rhys was bowed forward, his face in Jack's shoulder and hand bunching in his shirt as the other man was half on the bed. His voice was breathy, and Jack just shushed him quietly against his neck. 

He gave a few teasing strokes that immediately brought Rhys to full mast, passing his palm over the head and giving him some slick to work with. The friction was just enough. His blood was thrumming but his exhausted body was focused only on the pleasure. How long had it been before all of this?

He pressed his forehead harder into Jack's shoulder as the other man quickly jerked him off, whispering encouragements against the skin of his neck as Rhys' breath came hard. "That's it baby, come on. Just like that." He spread the pad of his thumb over the slit, and Rhys made a noise he wasn't proud of. He clung to Jack's shoulder, whining at Jack that he wasn't going to last long, aroused coil in his groin tightening as Jack nibbled his ear. "Yeah, that's it. Real good. Come on Rhysie, come for Handsome Jack." Between Jack's hot breath on his neck, his throaty words and fast strokes, Rhys came hard with a sharp cry over Jack's hand. Jack milked him for everything he had to give, kissing his neck where his heart rate fluttered out of control. Rhys weakly batted his hand away from his overly sensitive cock, catching his breath in Jack's neck as the other man's heavy breathing was heard in his ear.

He would have been embarrassed with how quickly he came, but the fact that Jack didn't press matters or tease- and that he was still so exhausted even after being out of it for two weeks- made him care little. 

The Hyperion CEO wiped his hand on the sheets and kissed Rhys hard, possessively with teeth and tongue, before kissing his forehead. He re-covered Rhys and made a mental note to order a linens change, before adjusting his own hardon in his jeans. He'd deal with that later. "Get some rest, pumpkin. I'll visit you again later."

"Yeah...." Rhys felt himself already dropping off to slumber by the time Jack was dimming the lights of the room. When he woke up the next day, it wasn't Jack waiting at his bedside, but Vaughn and Yvette with hugs and chocolate. Jack didn't visit him the day after that though. Nor did he come the next, or even the next.

It would be a week later before Jack showed himself again, walking with a limp, covered in blood, with a manic smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had some fun playing around with eridium since its full properties aren't completely known. Woo mystery alien elements. I also took a huge chunk out while editing because I felt it didn't stay true to the characters, but I'm pretty pleased. :3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to give a little shout out to the amazing person on tumblr who did a little SFM animation they said they were inspired from this fic to do <3 You rocked my ever-loving-socks in ways you don't understand. I was squealing in happiness all day and telling all my IRL friends that "my questionable fanfic you don't need to know about got some crazy well done fic-inspired art on tumblr!!! ....no I won't tell you what I write about...."
> 
> Seriously thank you for brightening my entire week sugarplum!!!

Four sunk-in lights. One chair. One table. Three candy wrappers. Six electrical outlets. Five dried flower petals. Four white walls. One door.

No goddamn windows.

Rhys was bored stiff sitting in his hospital bed, nothing to look at, nothing to do. The room had stopped being interesting two days ago. It'd been four days since Jack had said he'd come see him. And although rest and recuperation were on the menu, he was bored stiff and ready to go home. 

He heard familiar vocal tones and shuffling outside his door before the room opened with a click. He could have cried he was so relieved for a change in the monotony.

"Heeeeeeey there."

"Still faking it we see."

Vaughn and Yvette came into the room and one of the guards stationed outside the room shut it behind them succinctly.

"I have never been happier to see you both," Rhys told them.

"I told you if we kept bringing him chocolate then he'd associate that with us," Yvette told Vaughn with a hand blocking her mouth, though her voice was loud and teasing.

"The only thing I associate with _you_ is mooched lunches," Rhys shot with a smirk. 

Yvette huffed and crossed her arms, though the three of them were grinning. Vaughn pulled the solitary chair to the side of the bed while Yvette made herself comfortable on the edge of the bed, giving his calf a reassuring squeeze.

"So how you feeling today bro?"

"Bored. Super bored. Like, I'd-rather-be-debugging-a-toaster bored."

"That's cute but I meant physically."

"Dying of boredom."

"Real cute."

"Told you we should have brought him some reading material."

Vaughn pointed a judgemental finger at Yvette. "I am not on-board with what you consider ' _reading material_ '." He turned back to Rhys. "And I am _not_ enabling _your_ Handsome Jack addiction. It's bad enough even with the real thing."

Rhys felt his cheeks redden while Yvette waggled her eyebrows at him. "Let's just say I ran across something a little.... _vintage_...from Jack's earlier 'inspirational poster' days." Rhys felt his whole face burn. "You can ask Jack about the fruit basket shoot and thank me later."

"I'll never get that image out of my head...." Vaughn muttered. 

There was a silence in which Yvette was snickering and Vaughn was rubbing his eyes as if he could rub away whatever it was he had seen. Rhys would be lying if he said he wasn't intrigued, but thought it safer to change topics.

"Soooo.....Think you and Yvette can bust me out of here?"

Vaughn put his glasses back into place and looked up. "With those guards outside? I'm not as buff as you think, bro."

Rhys snorted at that.

" _I_ could try distracting them," Yvette suggested. 

"I don't think you're their type," Vaughn said with a somewhat proud tilt of his chin. "It was _my_ ass that got grabbed last time we came to visit."

Yvette frowned and then chose to look entirely exaggeratedly offended. "As if they would know what to even do with me...." She smirked at both men, and looked at her watch. "Speaking of which, I gotta go. Just wanted to pop in but I'm right in the middle of putting together a presentation and the idiots I'm leading won't get it right without me. Just wanted to say hi though."

She got off the bed and gave Rhys a kiss to the side of his neural port, promised him if he got better faster then that poster would be waiting for him all the sooner, and exited the room, shutting the door none too quietly behind her. Her voice could be heard through the door, engaging both guards outside.

"I think she took it personally," Rhys said with a long look at the door.

"If she's not forcing both of them to grab her ass just to prove a point then I don't know her nearly as well as I thought." Vaughn smirked at Rhys. "I know I've already said how weird it is but I'm glad Jack is keeping a watch on you, bro." He patted Rhys' hand where the eridium drip was still hooked into his veins.

Rhys sighed. "If they weren't there then I could go home." He looked at his hand. "Probably."

"Seem fine to me.....Or as fine as anyone who's survived a poisoning should look. Not that I'd know," Vaughn told him with forced smile.

"The doctors won't tell me anything."

"They're probably scared of Jack, bro."

"It would be nice if his royal highness would get his ass down here already and tell them to let me go home." Rhys frowned, realizing how pathetic he sounded. "Jack told me he'd visit again the next day and that was four days ago."

Vaughn looked away, troubled. "I didn't want to worry you at all, but there have been rumors....and of course they're only rumors I heard in the Hub, but Handsome Jack hasn't been seen in days."

Rhys looked alarmed and sat up straighter. "Vaughn you have to go check if he's alright. What if someone got into his office and-"

Vaughn stopped him. "I don't think he's on Helios, bro. And even if he was, do you really think he can't handle himself? I doubt he'd fall for a poisoning so soon after the first attempt."

Rhys grumbled. "The only reason it's _not_ him in here is because I drank his coffee by mistake...It could happen..."

Vaughn rubbed fingers against the bridge of his nose under his glasses, then looked at Rhys exasperatedly. "Your concern is real cute and all but it's Handsome Jack we're talking about here; he can take care of himself." He squeezed Rhys' hand. "You really scared the crap out of us, you know?"

Rhys gave him a sheepish smile. "Guess I should start making my own coffee from now on."

Vaughn sighed with concern. "Just try to worry about Jack less, worry about yourself more, please." He gave Rhys a half grin. "It's too hard to find a new roommate for how high our rent is, bro."

Rhys laughed and shook his head. "I guess you're right. I don't know what the hell could be so important though that Jack doesn't even bother telling me he's pissing off for a few days."

"It's Handsome. _Jack_. Whatever he's off doing, I'm sure he's fine. Don't pay attention to the rumors."

"Yeah yeah...." He didn't want to admit how much he missed Jack and the comfort it had brought him when he'd been briefly with him. He didn't like it here. He was bored. Then angry. Then concerned. Where the hell was he? And when would he be back? "I just want to go home."

"I'll try finding your doctor, see what I can do."

"Thanks bro."

"See what we can do about the boredom in the meantime too."

"Bro, I would give my other arm for that." They both laughed and Vaughn stuck around a bit longer before Rhys started to look tired, then let himself out, promising to be back the next day.

\--

Aside from a twitchy doctor and accompanied nurse, Rhys didn't see many people while sitting totally bored, so he was super grateful for a book about Eden-6 and Handsome Jack's (surely exaggerated) exploits to read, which helped him to occupy the time he didn't spend napping. Vaughn might bemoan his little addition to Jack, but he also willingly enabled it, so Rhys could well take the teasing that Vaughn dished out. It was little to sacrifice when he got goodies out of it. That's why Vaughn was the best bro ever. At least he didn't have to be completely bored when stuck alone.

It was a week after he'd last seen Jack that the doctor had removed his eridium drip and told him he was allowed to leave. He didn't question his good luck and Vaughn had left to get him a fresh change of clothes from home. 

He was just buttoning his shirt while Vaughn was poking fun at how he'd probably miss all his sponge baths when the door opened and it took them a moment to realize they were looking at Jack in the flesh.

"Heya kiddo! Miss me? I missed _yoooou_."

"Jack--holy-- You're covered in blood! Why are you covered in blood?" Rhys stuttered. Jack looked as if he'd been the casualty of a food fight. If the food was blood. And the pieces stuck to him were viscera. Rhys swallowed bile in his throat. The man's mask had smeared red streaks. Everything was still moist.

"Just got back from Pandora, pumpkin. Still a shithole of a planet, by the way." Jack turned his grin on Vaughn, teeth starkly white against the blood streaks on his mask, and patted the shorter man heartily on the back. "How are you, muscles? Been keeping my useless PA happy?"

Vaughn was stuttering, looked about to shit bricks. Jack was normally an intimidating man just by nature. Handsome Jack covered in _blood_ fresh from a slaughter was another matter entirely.

"Why--- what-- Where have you been?"

Jack turned his attention from Vaughn to Rhys, smirking, his hand still on Vaughn's shoulder. The shorter man looked like he might faint. "Had to smoke out the contacts left on Helios. They wouldn't make a move unless they thought I was out of the picture, so I wiped out that bandit colony down on Pandora, and came back up here to cut loose ends." He was all grins at both men. "By the way, I'd stay out of the Hub of Heroism for a while....Hoooo I made a mess down there."

Vaughn and Rhys looked at each other not knowing what to say. Jack let go of Vaughn to circle around Rhys, checking his general state.

"Jack why are you limping?"

"Oh am I?" He stopped to look down, as if the fact he was covered in blood fresh from a kill was news to him. 

"Yes. Yes you are." Rhys swallowed. He could smell copper coming from the other man. He hoped he wouldn't throw up his hospital food. It tasted bad going down, it would be awful coming back up.

"Oh yeah I got hit with some shrapnel down there. Got a little too happy kicking the shit out of some idiot, wasn't paying attention to the moron that came up behind me. Honestly my mistake." He grinned at Rhys, then turned to give Vaughn a double thumbs up. "Totally worth it though."

Rhys frowned as he looked at Jack's leg with worry. "...they should call you Idiot Jack instead," Rhys told him with an exasperated frown. He looked up to meet Jack's eyes. "Why did you go all the way down to Pandora yourself? You could have just sent your army, Jack."

It was Jack's turn to look at Rhys like _he_ was the idiot. "You think I'd be satisfied just watching instead of eviscerating them with my own two hands? If their pathetic little assassination attempt had actually affected me, then maybe. If I wasn't bored. But when it affects you, princess....makes me want to get my hands dirty."

Rhys didn't realize he was smiling at Jack. "You still should have sent your army."

Jack just grinned and perused the room at large. "Everything is taken care of, all loose ends tied up, hero saves the day. Same old same old." He gave Vaughn a grin. "Your buddy is safe, pal. Hero wins all, no need to thank me." He winked at Vaughn and the shorter man forced a nervous laugh, shooting Rhys a concerned look.

Jack was acting strangely. Downright friendly to Vaughn. Almost.... _cuddly_ wasn't a word he'd use to describe Jack....playful? Rhys grabbed Jack's shoulders and made the other man look at him. His pupils were blown wide, green and blue irises minor outlines against the black. 

Jack was high as a freaking kite.

"Kiss me, sugar."

"Oh my god, you're _high_."

"Oh I'm higher than a kite right now, kiddo. Those painkillers they had you on before? _Gooooood_ stuff lemme tell ya. Quality. That's what I'm talking about. But unlike you, I won't spout any embarrassing fanboy shit." He took Rhys chin between his thumb and forefinger, grinning. Rhys felt color come to his cheeks while Jack looked quite pleased with himself. "Even if you do make quite a picture, princess."

"Um....that's good then..." He removed his hands from Jack's shoulders, trying to ignore the sticky sensation. "...They said I can go home, by the way," Rhys sputtered, freeing his chin from Jack and taking half a step back. The Hyperion CEO put his hands on his hips and nodded.

"Yeah, you've been good to go for quite a few days now, sweetheart." 

Rhys fixed him with an annoyed look. " _What_?"

"Had to keep you somewhere you wouldn't get into trouble, kitten." He ignored Rhys look of pure disdain. "And I wanted to be positive the eridium treatment worked. Looks like it did. Now what say we go home?"

Jack opened his arms to Rhys and took a step forward while Rhys took one back, flesh hand over his mouth. "Jack, please." He swallowed as he stupidly gazed over the blood and viscera splattered over the front of Jack's pants, his vest, the sleeves of his jacket.

Jack stayed in place and raised a brow at Rhys. "You really gonna hurl? I thought we broke you of that cupcake. Okay fine, give me a second."

Without another thought he toed off his shoes and stripped down, removing his jacket and layers as Vaughn looked helplessly at Rhys, wondering in horror what he was about to see or if he should book it out of there. They were both frozen in place as Jack became cleaner by the moment in peeling off his blood-soaked layers and letting the items of clothing fall to the floor with a wet squelch. The blood hadn't seeped past his leather jacket much, and Jack was quite clean considering. But his pants were ruined. He peeled himself down to his yellow Hyperion sweater and peeled off his blood soaked jeans without shame, leaving everything in a bloody gory pile as he stood there in boxer briefs and sweater, reattaching his thigh holster after wiping it off on his less-blood-soaked shirt.

Rhys gasped as he caught sight of Jack's leg. "Shit Jack are you alright?"

Jack didn't look up from what he was doing, having trouble looping the leather. "Of course pumpkin. Why?"

"Because you have a huge chunk missing from your leg?"

He was bandaged, that much was clear, but the size of the damage he'd taken to the calf was nothing to laugh at. It became apparent that he wasn't limping because he was in pain or felt it, but he was limping because he was missing critical tissue to walk normally.

Rhys looked at Vaughn who was still stock still at being in the same room as Handsome Jack in nothing but sweater and boxer briefs, gun holster snug against his thigh. He was no less intimidating for the fact. The shorter man had all new reasons to fear the all powerful ruler of Helios.

"Hey muscles, not falling in love over there are you?" Jack asked with a laugh as Vaughn jolted. "Make yourself useful and make sure these get cleaned and returned to me, 'kay? Have the cleaners bill me or some shit I don't care." He shot Rhys a loopy grin. "Now come on, let's go home. I have new sheets I wanna break in."

"What about your leg?" Rhys was still staring at his calf. They needed to get that taken care of.

"It's alright. Bandaged up." 

"Jack we're in a hospital; get it taken care of."

"It's _fine_ pumpkin, no problems. Don't you worry about Handsome Jack." Vaughn rolled his eyes and made a pointed look at Rhys to which the cybernetic man ignored. Jack slung an arm around Rhys' shoulders and squeezed his arm. "Let's get a move on, sugar."

"You're not seriously leaving dressed like that?"

"Kitten, who do you think funds this place? I could walk out of here stark naked and no one would blink. Well, they might. If they weren't too busy staring at the goods." Rhys rolled his eyes as Jack gave him a peck on the cheek.

Jack was insistently urging Rhys and for how much the younger man had wanted to leave before, he sure was taking his sweet time getting out of there. He looked over at Vaughn as Jack was grumbling something about blood under his nails. "Um, guess I'll catch ya later, bro."

"Yeah. See you bro."

He left Vaughn with some pity to deal with Jack's bloody laundry as the Hyperion CEO directed him from the plain white walls of his room down conspicuously silent rooms and more plain while halls to a car waiting to take them to the nicer part of Helios that Jack called home.

Once inside the car, Jack was all hands, giving Rhys no quarter. He had pulled Rhys half in his lap, touching everywhere with hands and lips, nibbling over his collarbone and ear, a hand sliding up his shirt to thumb over a nipple, and Rhys was helpless against it. He'd missed Jack a lot more than he'd ever admit, missed _this_ even more, and he wanted as fiercely as Jack was giving. Jack carded his hands through Rhys' hair and the cybernetic man let loose a low whine which Jack covered with his kiss. He fluttered kisses about his face; cheek, temple, nose, side of the mouth. And all the time teasing that nipple mercilessly between his fingers. All thoughts of Jack's blood-covered slaughter-fest were gone from his mind as the older man sucked a bruise right onto the tattoo on his neck.

"Rhysie Rhysie Rhys....do you have any idea how blue my balls are, sugar?" Jack groaned into his ear. "It's been _weeks_ since I've had my cock inside you. You want it don't you? Want me filling you up? It'll be so good sweetheart, it's been so long."

Rhys moaned into Jack's neck, his words traveling down his stomach all the way to the tip of his cock. Yes, yes he wanted that. That and so much much more. " _Please_ ," he whined as Jack brushed his hand from his overworked nipple over the outline of his cock through his pants. He wanted Jack so badly he was afraid he might come in his pants on the spot. He had definitely missed this more than he'd realized.

"I'm going to fuck you silly, sweetheart."

Rhys pulled Jack's face to his own with both hands, ignoring the sometimes sticky quality to Jack's hair in desperation for his mouth back on his own, his tongue against the CEO's. Everything Jack. He wanted to be surrounded in Jack; his scent, his arms, his powerful aura. Oh this was bad. Vaughn was right. He wasn't just addicted, he was dependent. He hadn't had a proper taste of Jack in far too long and his body remembered just how much it needed it.

Jack was nibbling the junction of his shoulder and neck as Rhys shivered. "...bite me," Rhys told him on exhale, holding Jack tight against him and unwilling to let go as his fingers clenched in Jack's yellow sweater.

Jack raised a brow at him with half-cocked smirk, pulling away to look at him better while Rhys made a noise of defiance at the loss of his lips. "Hm?"

Rhys latched his lips to Jack's own, worrying the bottom lip with his teeth and making the older man growl as he met his eyes. "I said _bite me_....I want to feel your teeth."

Jack wasted no time sticking his face back into Rhys' neck, gently latching his teeth on and then laving over the bite with his tongue as he squeezed Rhys' thigh. Rhys held him there by the back of his head, breathing hard between whiny, needy noises. "...harder, Jack."

He got an amused snort, then Jack bit him much harder, teeth leaving indents, and Rhys' hips bucked upwards in Jack's lap. Jack laved over the new bite and spoke between kisses to his neck. "Oh you sweet thing, I am going to wreck you."

Jack decided he couldn't wait to get back to his penthouse, and unzipped Rhys' pants to get to his straining cock. He closed fingers around the hard length while Rhys gasped and gripped Jack tight. He stroked him a few times while Rhys whined and moaned and squirmed in his arms, feeling Jack's own erection pressing up against him. When Jack's hand left his throbbing cock, Rhys cried out in disdain only for Jack to trace fingers around his lips. "Suck."

He was going to embarrass himself here in the car, he knew it. He greedily took Jack's fingers in his mouth as the fingers on Jack's other hand played over his thigh. Rhys laved his tongue over the pads, sucking them deeper into his mouth with a pleased hum, listening to Jack's heavy breathing. Jack removed his fingers much to Rhys' annoyance, and he only laughed as that annoyed expression became one of absolute pleasure as Jack jerked him off. 

"What do you want, pumpkin?" Jack rasped in his ear, worrying his earlobe with his teeth as Rhys' hips vaulted. 

" _You_..." Rhys' needy moan came out, and Jack laughed and bit his ear.

"And you'll have me, sweetheart," he laughed. "Are you close?" he asked as he swiped his thumb over the head of Rhys' cock, getting a particularly filthy moan. "Can I get my mouth on you, pumpkin? Would you like that?"

" _Fuck_ , Jack," Rhys said as he thrust up into the older man's palm, feeling like he could come from his words and voice alone. If Jack kept doing what he was doing, he just might.

Jack moved Rhys from his lap to a quick chorus of " _no no no_ " as Jack just chuckled, getting on his knees before the seat and engulfing Rhys' cock in the warmth of his mouth. It only took three bobs of his head before Rhys was coming with a shout, Jack massaging his hip with his hand as he swallowed the younger man down.

Rhys was breathing hard, heart rate out of control as he lay there on the seat. It took him a moment to realize the car was not moving, and Jack's face appeared before his vision with a shit-eating grin. Rhys grabbed his face on impulse and kissed him, tasting the bitter flavor of his release on Jack's tongue momentarily before it was gone. Jack's hand was behind his neck, warm against his thrumming pulse. He took a deep breath and gave a tug to get Rhys up. "Let's go, cupcake."

While Hyperion's CEO wasn't wearing any pants, and spotting a sizeable erection, Rhys considered himself more scandalized looking of the two; his shirt halfway untucked and unbuttoned, hair facing every which way, cheeks flushed and pants hanging open at the zipper. He didn't even care.

A quick elevator ride and the two were thankfully inside the penthouse. Rhys could tell that the painkillers had started to wear off; or at least their high had. Jack's limp was more pronounced as he removed himself from his goal of covering Rhys' neck in hickeys to peel his thigh holster and rest of his clothes off to go stand in the large shower of the bathroom that adjoined his bedroom. He hadn't even tried coaxing Rhys to join him, and that's what made the younger man realize just how badly fucked Jack's calf must really be.

Rhys reigned in his throbbing hormones that were already ready for another go, and found Jack's first aid kit filled with all the top shelf goodies and experimental Hyperion items that any field medic would give their arm for. Rhys had been in on the development of some of the goods in this box. They were expensive as hell to manufacture and weren't available to the general public yet.

Of course Jack had a secret stash.

Jack came hobbling naked out of the shower, dabbing at himself with a towel. The bandage around his calf was soaked and dripping, erection red and still at attention, and he was blinking more normally, smile less goofy. Rhys came before him with the box and dropped to his knees.

"Well aren't we eager?" Jack teased, running a hand through his hair. "I forgot how pretty you look on your knees."

Rhys only smirked back up, a hand on Jack's warm thigh. "Let me take care of your leg first, then I'll take care of you." 

Jack grinned but sat down on the edge of the bed as Rhys directed him. "Pushy." He smirked down at Rhys, stuck his uninjured leg between Rhys' thighs to lazily stroke at his balls through his pants with his toes. Rhys sighed once and told him to quit it while he was carefully removing the bandage.

There truly was a large hunk of flesh gone, not bleeding, but also not quite there. It almost made his stomach turn, and made him question everything he thought he knew about Jack. How Jack was walking around like it was nothing was beyond him. Though if he knew Hyperion goods and quality, it wouldn't be an issue for too long. The pain killers worked well, and Jack's little bag of goodies would help to regenerate the missing flesh in no time.

He removed a syringe filled with deceptively simple-looking clear liquid from a special case, and tapped it once before injecting Jack right above the injury. The other man didn't even flinch. He removed the needle and proceeded to cover the wound with new gauze and closed the lid on the box as Jack drew his chin up.

"So, what do I get for being such a good patient?" he purred to the younger man before him. A shiver went up Rhys' spine at that tone. 

Yes, he was hopelessly lost, and he loved it.

Rhys cocked half a smirk, and ran both hands up the side of Jack's thighs, resting his thumbs on Jack's hipbones, teasing. "Whatever you want, Mr. CEO."

"You do know what I like to hear," Jack ran a thumb over Rhys' lips before bending over to cover them with his own. Rhys hooked a hand behind Jack's neck as the older man pulled on his lower lip before giving him a half-lidded look. "And right now I want your mouth."

Rhys grinned and told Jack to get back on the bed. He quickly stripped as Jack made himself comfortable, and Jack whistled as Rhys' cock was free, not quite hard again but definitely interested. "Oh baby, have I ever told you how gorgeous you are?"

Rhys smirked as he crawled on the bed to kiss Jack's lips. "Maybe a few times. Definitely not enough." Jack laughed at that, and Rhys gripped his bicep as he leaned over Hyperion's CEO. He trailed kisses all over Jack's face, sucking bruises onto the man's neck he knew he'd catch hell for later. He didn't care. He'd missed Jack. He was relieved he was alright. He was relieved to be out of that damn hospital room. And he was more than happy to be back with the man himself proper. The S-13 deal that had kept them so busy before seemed like half a lifetime ago. He intended to mark Jack up just as much as the man usually did to him.

Rhys scraped his teeth over Jack's nipple before biting, getting a moan out of Jack as the other man tangled fingers in Rhys' hair. "Somebody missed me I think," Jack teased.

"You don't know the half of it," Rhys murmured into the skin of his belly, following the fine trail of hair with his nose but completely avoiding Jack's cock as he placed light bites to his hips, the inside of his thighs, drawing circles with his flesh thumb over Jack's left ilium. 

Jack hummed as his cock twitched when Rhys' hot breath would ghost over it. When he finally placed his flesh hand at the base and swirled his tongue around the head before taking it into his mouth, Jack's hips bucked off the bed forcing him to quickly take more of his length. He used his metal hand to keep Jack's hips still as he worked, the weight of his cock on his tongue comforting, pleasurable. He felt his own cock twitch as he gently cupped Jack's balls, rolling them between his fingers while the other man deeply moaned and clenched his fingers in Rhys' hair as he bobbed his head.

He told him it a lot in the heat of the moment, but Rhys really did have a mouth made for sucking cock. He was a pro; he knew just what Jack liked, knew just how to put that smart tongue to good use. And God when he looked up at him with those mismatched eyes, a dirty look gleaming at him....That had gotten Jack through some boring nights at the office, definitely.

"Mmm I've missed you, pumpkin. That's _so_ good," he purred as Rhys passed his tongue over the underside of the head. The cybernetic man could taste precum as he swirled his tongue in the slit, and Jack tried to buck off the bed. He was panting, and gave Rhys a slight tug to the hair to get his attention. The cybernetic man looked up, blue and brown meeting blue and green eyes, as he took Jack's cock all the way to the hilt, nose buried in Jack's musky hair.

Jack let loose a strangled "fuck!" before tugging on Rhys' hair harder. With a 'pop' Jack's cock popped out his mouth as Rhys regarded him. Jack ran his nails over Rhys' scalp as the other man smirked. "You're too good at that pumpkin and it's been too long." Rhys hummed and dragged both hands from Jack's knees to his flanks, giving the older man a squeeze. "Get on the bed proper, kitten."

"No," Rhys replied. Jack gave him a threatening look, but Rhys only smirked. "You lay back. I've got this."

Jack smirked back at his willingness as the younger man got to his knees to retrieve a bottle of lube from inside the side-table. He was definitely game to this. "All part of your care package, princess?"

"I'm very involved in the health of my patients, thank you," Rhys replied with snark as Jack laughed, patting his own lap for Rhys to sit in. 

He climbed over Jack's thighs and squirted some lube into his flesh hand, working it in his palm to warm it before greasing up his fingers. He reached behind himself to tease a few passes, slowly, slowly easing a slippery finger into himself. He groaned at the feeling as Jack trailed his hands over his chest, thumbs encircling and then tweaking his nipples. Rhys' untouched cock jumped against his stomach as he slowly worked his finger in and out of himself, then eased another finger in, relishing in the stretch as he scissored them inside. He was rushing things a bit, feeling for that bundle of nerves that would make him see lightning behind his eyes. He wanted so badly, it was as if previously coming in the car hadn't helped relieve anything.

Jack brought a hand over and down his hip to stroke at the juncture between his thighs, getting close to but not touching Rhys' own hand as he worked himself open. He stroked the underside of Rhys' balls as the younger man's breathing hitched, and he gave Jack a sultry smile. Rhys inserted a third finger and his eyes closed as his moan reverberated into Jack. He hit the bundle of nerves that had him seeing stars, and it made his blood burn.

"Is it good, baby?" Jack husked as Rhys prepared himself for the older man. 

"Oh Jack, I missed this." His breathing came harder as Rhys' voice hitched as he fucked himself back on his fingers, stretching and widening, pistoning them inside himself. Jack pinched his nipple a little harder than necessary, causing Rhys' blissed-out eyes to open and look down half-lidded at Jack, pupils blown with desire. "I'm ready," he purred, removing his fingers from himself with a moan to squirt more lube into his hand to pass over Jack's waiting cock. 

The CEO groaned in pure pleasure, trying not to move as Rhys lifted himself and guided him into his stretched hole, slowly, slowly sinking down onto the breadth of Jack's cock. The slow burn of the stretch was making his cock pulse in time with Jack's own as he settled, giving himself a moment to adjust that he was truthfully too impatient for. Jack pulled him down to coax his tongue into his mouth, drawing fingers through his hair as Rhys' body slowly pulsed around him.

He started to slowly move, shallow at first but deepening maybe a little quicker than he was ready for. God he wanted it. He wanted Jack in him. He wanted to feel every inch, and he wanted it to burn into his skin like the poison that had burned throughout his body.

Jack's hands were all over him, his neck, his ass, dragging him down again to kiss him and suck his tongue. Rhys kissed his jaw then bit his neck as he leisurely rode him, and Jack arched up with a moan, brushing his prostate as Rhys' moans echoed in the large room. 

He offered encouragements, tried to touch a hand over Rhys' cock only to be smacked away. Rhys gave him a blissed-out, devilish smile as he continued to ride him, increasing his pace and angling perfect to find his prostate almost every time. 

Jack was talking dirty to him, sweet things, encouragements, as Rhys warned him he was close, so close, and it felt so good. Jack wrapped his hand around Rhys' cock with no intention to be batted away this time, and pumped mercilessly as the other man cried out Jack's name, the hot coil in his belly springing loose as he came in spurts over Jack's hand between their stomachs. 

Jack kissed his face, and then licked Rhys' finish from his hand as the younger man groaned at the sight. He chased his own finish as Rhys still pulsed around him, his cock leaking still as Jack was pounding into the exhausted younger man above him. Rhys whispered equally dirty things to Jack, tweaked his nipples and sucked his Adam's apple as he tried to clench himself around the older man. Jack let out a strangled, almost pained moan as he came, and Rhys kissed him hard with hands on the side of his face, feeling the warm rush inside him as Jack's cock pulsed in time with his heart beat. They were both breathing heavily, heart rates crazy, skin sweaty, and satisfied beyond belief.

They lay there a few quiet moments, hot and sticky in the sheets, as Rhys nuzzled into Jack's neck, a hand on the other side stroking below his ear, and the CEO allowed it. 

He didn't look at Jack as he quietly spoke. Couldn't. Closed his eyes to darkness. "Please be more careful. You're too important. Hyperion would fall apart without you." 

Jack huffed and carded his fingers through Rhys' sweaty hair, pressed a kiss to his forehead as he sighed and closed his eyes, satisfied and beyond tired. "Right back at'cha kiddo." 

He felt Rhys smile against his neck, and he stroked the other's back as they lay a few moments more in post-coital bliss, unwilling to untangle themselves.

"So what happened down on Pandora? You didn't tell me you were going," Rhys said lazily, too far into the after-haze of pleasure to be really mad anymore at Jack's disappearing act.

"...Well we tracked that tongueless bastard to his leader. I got the call the night after I left you." Jack was stroking fingers through his hair, breathing deeply, satisfied. "Couldn't wait, and I didn't want to wake you up." Rhys could heard the smirk in his voice. "You'd have thrown a fit. Don't deny it kiddo." Rhys snorted and lightly bit Jack. He just laughed. "I got to shoot most of 'em. Didn't get to skin nearly enough of them as I wanted to." He let loose a chuckle, and turned his head towards Rhys. "You know what the funniest part is? A few of those bastards had guns from that little malfunction we were trying to fix." Jack's laughter rumbled up through his chest, shaking Rhys. "They were shocking themselves left and right and--and--"

Jack had to stop a minute to calm down from laughing at the memory. "--and this one guy goes to shoot me, and he's all _aaaaagh my aaaaarm_ and I'm just dying laughing....Like I know they're idiots and psychos but you'd think they would have tried the guns out before using them....ooooooh it was freakin' sweet, wish you could've seen it."

Rhys smirked into his neck. "Is that how you hurt your leg?"

Jack snorted in answer, chose not to dignify that with a response. "We had to wait for patrols to come back so we got 'em all. Amazing how a little torture gets 'em talking. Pretty fun. Left the bodies for the Rakks to feed on. A couple heads on pikes to remember them by." Rhys burrowed his face further into Jack's neck, nose in his collar. "Gave the leader a taste of his own medicine." Jack patted Rhys' back. "You don't have to worry about any of them anymore, sugar. All clear."

Rhys hummed, not sure how bad he felt about the ruthless murders. Not as bad as someone who _hadn't_ been poisoned, that was for sure. "....so....can we get a coffee maker for the office?"

"It's already there, kitten." Jack was petting the hair at his neck, grinning. "You can make all the disgusting sweet coffees your little heart can handle."

Rhys snorted. "My hero."

Jack moved beneath him and Rhys shifted above him as Jack slipped out of him. He made a noise and grimaced as he felt Jack's release leaking out of him, and felt his own sticky release tacky between them both. He felt filthy and disgusting and immensely satisfied, and he loved it. But they couldn't stay like this.

He lifted his head from Jack's shoulder to meet mismatched eyes. "Shower?"

Jack raised a brow, ready to tease. "What, no sponge bath for your ailing patient? And we were doing so well. I might need to speak to your boss."

Rhys rolled his eyes but was smirking at him. "I don't think you want to. He's kind of a hard ass. Might not be worth it. Drinks his coffee black. Real nasty."

Jack gave him a leering grin, grabbing a handful of his ass in a squeeze. "I've changed my mind. Shut up and get in the tub, sweetheart. I'm going to show you all the various meanings of the word 'nasty'."

Rhys' movements were awkward as he quickly crawled off Jack and made his way to the bathroom not without a smirk. This time it was _Jack's_ turn to bring attention to _his_ hobbling, laughing about how delicate his little nurse was.

He got a wet washcloth to the face in response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I am 98% happy with the way this chapter worked out and overall characterization of a high-as-balls Handsome Jack. I am also more impatient than I am perfectionist, so I hope you enjoyed this little ride with my two favorite trash lords of a game I've never even played. I've been incredibly encouraged by every comment and every kudos left, and want to thank you all from the bottom of my smutty little heart <3
> 
> EDIT: AND [WE'VE GOT FANART!!!](http://ym523.tumblr.com/post/130354777654/just-some-dizzy-spells-and-jack-being-all) I fucking love you marry me bro. Right now.
> 
> [my tumblr](http://purge-that-urge-rhackathon.tumblr.com/) | [my fic masterlist archive](http://purge-that-urge-rhackathon.tumblr.com/post/134979026515/poisonjack-ao3-fic-archive)


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